CATS ARE NOT SWEET ON FA FOLLOWING SAM SWOOP
ENGLAND WON’T BE INVITED BACK TO SUNDERLAND IN A HURRY AFTER POACHING SAM ALLARDYCE
Even the beer pumps had to be changed at the Stadium of Light when the England corporate bandwagon rolled into Wearside.
May’s friendly against Australia proved to be a logistical nightmare for Sunderland’s army of behind-the-scenes workers, who had to alter all of the marketing agreements which differed between club and country.
But after a 13-year gap since the previous England game at Sunderland, the opportunity to host one of just two domestic-based friendlies prior to Euro 2016 handed the Black Cats a healthy dollop of prestige, even if it wasn’t particularly beneficial financially.
England aren’t going to be invited back in a hurry now though...
The FA’s decision to appoint Sam Allardyce has propelled Sunderland back into choppy waters, on the eve of a season which held such promise of finally ending the pattern of under-achievement and fulfilling that long-cherished objective of stability.
England’s appointment of Allardyce is understandable. The lack of organisation, coherent strategy and particularly man management was starkly evident in that Iceland surrender.
The manner of that harrowing Euro 2016 elimination was what made Allardyce such an appealing candidate for the FA.
Had England gone out in the quarter finals to France, the FA would doubtless have spent weeks ‘reviewing’ Roy Hodgson’s position.
Even if they’d then pulled the plug on Hodgson, a case would have been made for progress at reaching the last eight, and a Gareth Southgate or Gary Neville parachuted in as an FA-polished heir to build on those foundations.
But Iceland was so traumatic that Allardyce emerged as the drastic answer; an antidote to the culture of Ivory Tower delusion which has surrounded the England side for the last 15 years.
The first phone-call from his country will genuinely have taken the self-assured Allardyce aback. He thought his chance had come and gone when he finished runner-up behind Steve McClaren 10 years ago.
And for all his departure leaves a sour taste, no other job would have seen him leave Sunderland.
The 61-year-old had been reinvigorated by his spell at the Stadium of Light, particularly the dramatic improvement in performances and gradual surge away from danger which followed the arrival of the January signings.
At Christmas, Allardyce may have still been bubbly in front of the cameras, but he was dispirited that his arrival had not prompted a quick turnaround. Far from it, Sunderland were not much better off with a squad of players that lacked sufficient quality or resilience.
But the roulette wheel gamble on Wahbi Khazri, Lamine Kone and Jan Kirchhoff changed the entire picture.
Suddenly, Sunderland looked a team again.
Initially, Allardyce was deeply frustrated at constantly snatching draws from the jaws of victory, but he had caught the buzz again and felt the love from the terraces.
From a fractious, tense relationship with supporters at former club West Ham, Allardyce’s brand of common sense resounded with Wearside’s public. He ‘got it’ and injected the tempo and intensity into Sunderland’s play which was in tune with the noise in the stands.
It would be unfair to paint the picture as entirely rosy.
There have been echoes of Gus Poyet and Dick Advocaat before him over recent weeks after Allardyce has been frustrated at the transfer budget allocated and Sunderland’s inability to make a breakthrough in the market.
He was holding fire over